INTRODUCTION Cut flowers like rose, gladiolus, tuberose, chrysanthemum, etc. have greater demanded in both local and international markets. Among these, tuberose is one of the most important cut flowers. The tuberose is grown under a wide range of soil and climatic conditions, but flowers best in warm and humid climates. Among four types of tuberose, the Double type is mainly cultivated for cut flowers. Post-harvest management is one of the most important factors in the cut flower industry. The components of cut-flower quality are size, stage of florets, fragrance and freshness of flowers. Vase life of cut flowers is dependant on many factors. Standardization of the stage of harvest and stem length for longer vase life is needs to be done for any new cultivar. Hence, the effect of harvest-stage and spike length on vase life was studied in this experiment. MATERIAL AND METHODS Healthy spikes of tuberose cv. Double were used in this investigation. The trial was conducted with 16 different treatments comprising four lengths of stem and four stages of harvest, during the year 2003-04 in Factorial Effect of stem length and stage of harvest on vase-life of cut flowers in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) cv. Double D.K. Varu and A.V. Barad Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh - 362 001 E-mail: dkvaru@yahoo.com ABSTRACT A study was carried out to explore the effect of length of stem and stage of harvest on vase life and display quality of tuberose. As regards stem length, 90 cm stem length (L 4 ) had longest vase life, maximum uptake of water, minimum loss-uptake ratio, maximum fresh weight and percentage of opened florets, and, lowest percentage of abscised floret; whereas, 60 cm stem length (L 2 ) enhanced longevity of individual florets. In the case of stage of harvest, significantly high vase life, least loss of water, minimum loss-uptake ratio and lowest physiological loss of weight were recorded in two-florets open stage (S 3 ). Maximum percentage of opened florets and lowest percentage of abscised florets were observed in three-florets open stage (S 4 ), whereas, maximum uptake of water and fresh weight of spike were seen in one-floret open stage (S 2 ). Interaction effect of stem length and harvest stage was also found to be significant showing that 75 cm of stem length with one-floret open stage (L 3 S 2 ) was superior for maximum vase life of spike as well as lowest physiological loss of weight. Key words: Stem length, stage of harvest, tuberose, vase life C.R.D. with three replications, at P.G. Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, Junagadh Agriculture University, Junagadh (Gujarat). The same was repeated in the second year (2004-05). Spikes were harvested in the evening with lengths of 45 cm (L 1 ), 60 cm (L 2 ), 75 cm (L 3 ) and 90 cm (L 4 ) at unopened floret (S 1 ), first-floret open (S 2 ), second- floret open (S 3 ) and third-floret open (S 4 ) stage. Freshly harvested spikes were placed in glass bottles filled with distilled water as per treatment combinations. Observations for vase life and qualitative parameters were recorded and data were analyzed in FCRD. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Vase life of spike Vase life of tuberose cut-flower was significantly affected by various stem lengths and was maximum in 90 cm stem length (13.72 days) and 75 cm stem length (L 3 ). Minimum vase life (12.55 days) was recorded in 45 cm stem length (L 1 ). Better vase life in longer stems could be due to higher water uptake, water conductivity and water balance with higher turgidity and freshness of the spike. Longer stems also contained higher amounts of reserve carbohydrates. J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 5 (1): 42-47, 2010 43 These results are supported by work of De and Barman (1998) and Singh et al (2000) in tuberose; Renu et al (1994) in rose; Sangama and Singh (1999), Satpute and Patel (2002); Barman and Rajni (2004) in gladiolus, and, Singh and Sangama (2002) in gerbera. In the case of stage of harvest, significantly maximum vase life of 14.02 days was recorded in two- florets open stage (S 3 ) followed by one-floret open stage (S 2 ). Similarly, interaction also significantly influenced vase life. Maximum vase life of 14.52 days was observed in the treatment combination L 3 S 2 . The vase life of spike started to increase from the unopened stage of harvest and was maximum at two-florets open stage, but reduced at the three- florets open stage. This may be due to higher uptake of water, water status and freshness of the spike, with lower weight-loss. These results are in accordance with observations made by De and Barman (1998) and Singh et al (2000) in tuberose; Ahn et al (1996) and De and Bhattacharjee (1999) in rose; Barman and Rajni (2004) in gladiolus; Nagaraja and Gopinatha (2001) in gerbera; Brahmankar et al ( 2005) in golden rod and Khalighi and Shafie (2000) in carnation. Longevity of individual florets It was obvious that among stem lengths, significantly longer vase life of individual floret (3.24 days) was recorded in 60 cm of stem length (L 2 ) and L 4 . Harvest of spikes in the unopened-florets stage (S 1 ) significantly increased longevity of individual florets (3.31 days), followed by two- florets open stage (S 3 ). The interaction effect was also found significant (Tables 1 and 2). Water uptake Highest uptake of water (74.63, 82.79 & 94.00 g) at 6th, 8th and 12th day of vase life was recorded in stem length 90 cm (L 4 ), followed by 75 cm (L 3 ) (Tables 3 & 4). Similarly, for stage of harvest, maximum water uptake (60.21, 65.04 & 67.88 g) at 6th, 8th and 12th day of vase life, respectively, was recorded in one-floret open stage (S 2 ). The result was also found to be significant for interaction and maximum-uptake of water was registered in the combination L 4 S 2 . Increased water-uptake might be due to a greater area of xylem as well as more amounts of carbohydrates responsible for higher absorption and retention of water in a longer stem. Similar reasons were also assigned by De and Barman (1998) and Singh et al (2000) in tuberose; Sangama and Singh (1999), Satpute and Patel (2002) and Barman and Rajni (2004) in gladiolus; Renu et al (1994) in rose, and Brahmankar et al (2005) in golden rod. Loss of water Minimum water-loss (43.67, 53.92 & 63.75g respectively) at 6th, 8th and 12th day of vase life of the spike was observed in 45 cm of stem length (L 1 ), followed by 60 cm (L 2 ) (Tables 3 & 4). Likewise, for stage of harvest, lowest values for loss of water (50.29, 59.17 & 71.21 g) at 6th, 8th and 12th day were recorded in two-floret open stage (S 3 ). Interaction effect of stem length and harvest stage on loss of water was significantly higher in the combination L 2 S 3 . This may be due to lower amount of carbohydrates, less area of xylem and poor water conductivity in the shortest stem, as also lowest rate of transpiration and ethylene production at an advanced stage. The result is in conformity J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 5 (1): 42-47, 2010 Vase-life of cut flowers in tuberose Table 1. Effect of stem length and stage of harvest on longevity of individual florets and vase life of spike in tuberose (days) Treatments Longevity of individual floret (days) Vase life of spike (days) 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled L 1 2.63 2.68 2.65 12.50 12.59 12.55 L 2 2.88 2.87 2.87 13.13 13.33 13.23 L 3 2.88 3.00 2.94 13.51 13.78 13.64 L 4 3.22 3.51 3.37 13.71 13.73 13.72 S.Em. ± 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.19 0.13 0.11 CD (P=0.05) 0.12 0.11 0.29 0.53 0.38 0.32 Stage of harvest S 1 3.35 3.38 3.36 11.79 12.03 11.91 S 2 2.71 2.77 2.74 13.48 13.82 13.65 S 3 2.90 3.10 3.00 13.94 14.10 14.02 S 4 2.63 2.82 2.73 13.63 13.48 13.35 S.Em± 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.19 0.13 0.11 CD (P=0.05) 1.12 0.11 0.08 0.53 0.38 0.32 Interaction L X S S.Em± 0.08 0.08 0.11 0.37 0.266 0.23 CD (P=0.05) 0.24 0.22 0.36 1.07 0.76 0.64 CV (%) 5.04 4.42 4.73 4.88 3.45 4.22 44 Table 3. Effect of stem length and stage of harvest on uptake of water, loss of water and loss uptake ratio at 6th, 8th and 12th day during vase life in tuberose (pooled) Treatments Uptake of water at (g) Loss of water at (g) Loss-uptake ratio at 6th day 8th day 12thday 6th day 8th day 12th day 6th day 8th day 12th day Length of spike L 1 48.46 51.46 52.75 43.67 53.92 63.75 0.91 1.07 1.23 L 2 43.75 52.38 52.71 49.42 63.08 71.38 1.20 1.23 1.39 L 3 56.63 60.71 64.42 58.00 67.63 74.96 1.04 1.13 1.17 L 4 74.63 82.79 90.04 66.63 81.42 93.04 0.90 0.99 1.04 S Em± 0.54 0.50 0.49 0.369 0.56 0.581 0.056 0.033 0.048 CD (P=0.05) 1.53 1.40 1.39 1.04 1.58 1.63 0.25 0.15 0.22 Stage of Harvest S 1 58.54 63.67 66.13 55.04 68.92 76.33 0.96 1.12 1.19 S 2 60.21 65.04 67.88 61.79 75.88 80.71 1.12 1.26 1.29 S 3 54.13 60.13 64.08 50.29 59.17 71.21 0.89 0.96 1.11 S 4 50.58 58.50 61.83 50.58 62.08 74.88 1.09 1.08 1.25 S Em± 0.54 0.50 0.49 0.369 0.56 0.58 0.06 0.04 0.03 C D (P=0.05) 1.53 1.40 1.39 1.04 1.58 1.63 0.25 0.19 0.12 Interaction L x S S Em± 1.09 0.98 0.99 1.38 1.12 1.16 0.13 0.07 0.08 C D (P=0.05) 3.06 2.76 2.78 3.89 3.16 3.27 0.40 0.23 0.25 CV (%) 4.76 3.89 3.73 3.32 4.13 3.75 8.41 8.32 6.41 with that of De and Barman (1998) and Singh et al (2000) in tuberose. Loss-uptake ratio Except for 60 cm spike length, all treatments (45, 75 & 90 cm) showed a lower and similar loss-uptake ratio. This indicates that spike length did not affect the ratio significantly. Fresh-weight of spike Significantly higher fresh-weight of spike (116.00, 104.33, 95.07, 86.80, 80.94,76.51 and 72.98 g) at 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th & 14th days was noticed consistently, with spikes of 90 cm stem length (L 4 ) (Tables 5 & 6). Likewise, minimum fresh-weight was recorded in 45 cm stem length (L 1 ). J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 5 (1): 42-47, 2010 Varu and Barad Table 2. Interaction effect of stem length and stage of harvest on longevity of individual floret and vase life of spike (days) Treatments Longevity of individual floret (days) Vase life of spike (days) 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled L 1 S 1 2.83 2.85 2.84 10.00 10.23 10.12 L 1 S 2 2.50 2.50 2.50 12.67 13.13 12.90 L 1 S 3 2.77 2.90 2.83 13.50 13.67 13.58 L 1 S 4 2.40 2.47 2.43 13.83 13.33 13.58 L 2 S 1 3.40 3.33 3.37 12.00 12.23 12.12 L 2 S 2 2.83 2.37 2.60 13.00 13.47 13.23 L 2 S 3 2.78 2.97 2.88 14.07 14.23 14.15 L 2 S 4 2.48 2.80 2.64 13.43 13.40 13.42 L 3 S 1 3.68 3.83 3.76 12.17 12.67 12.42 L 3 S 2 2.83 2.93 2.88 14.33 14.70 14.52 L 3 S 3 2.67 2.80 2.73 13.90 14.20 14.05 L 3 S 4 2.33 2.43 2.38 13.63 13.53 13.58 L 4 S 1 3.50 3.48 3.49 13.00 12.97 12.98 L 4 S 2 2.67 3.27 2.97 13.93 13.97 13.95 L 4 S 3 3.40 3.73 3.57 14.30 14.30 14.30 L 4 S 4 3.32 3.57 3.44 13.60 13.67 13.63 S.Em. ± 0.08 0.08 0.11 0.372 0.266 0.229 CD (P=0.05) 0.24 0.22 0.36 1.07 0.76 0.64 CV (%) 5.04 4.42 4.73 4.88 3.45 4.22 45 Table 5. Effect of stem length and stage of harvest on fresh weight and physiological loss of weight of spike during vase life of tuberose (pooled) Treatments Fresh weight of spike (g) PLW (%) 2ndday 4th day 6th day 8th day 10th day 12th day 14th day Length of spike L 1 53.67 44.42 41.23 36.88 33.55 30.40 28.20 40.87 L 2 73.00 63.83 54.54 47.09 44.75 40.98 36.78 42.59 L 3 92.42 81.67 74.51 69.77 64.78 61.00 56.11 32.64 L 4 116.00 104.33 95.07 86.80 80.94 76.51 72.98 31.29 S Em± 0.85 0.76 0.53 0.63 0.54 0.46 0.42 0.65 CD(P=0.05) 2.38 2.15 1.50 1.77 1.53 1.29 1.19 1.84 Stage of harvest S 1 85.83 76.00 69.90 61.64 57.96 54.03 49.66 36.13 S 2 83.92 73.58 68.53 62.26 58.45 54.15 50.11 34.82 S 3 82.75 73.08 65.78 61.25 56.97 53.26 50.40 33.66 S 4 82.58 71.58 61.12 55.40 50.65 47.45 43.90 42.78 S.Em± 0.85 0.76 0.53 0.63 0.54 0.46 0.42 0.65 CD (P=0.05) 2.38 2.15 1.50 1.77 1.53 1.29 1.19 1.84 Interaction L X S S Em± 1.69 1.53 1.07 1.26 1.08 0.92 1.17 1.31 CD (P=0.05) NS NS 3.01 3.54 3.05 2.58 3.38 3.68 CV (%) 4.94 5.09 3.95 5.13 4.74 4.30 4.27 8.69 Table 4. Interaction effect of stem length and stage of harvest on uptake of water, loss of water and loss uptake ratio at 6th, 8th and 12th day during vase life (pooled) Treatments Uptake of water (g) Loss of water (g) Loss-uptake ratio 6th day 8th day 12th day 6th day 8th day 12th day 6th day 8th day 12th day L 1 S 1 45.67 51.33 53.67 48.33 62.67 70.83 1.08 1.26 1.36 L 1 S 2 52.67 56.50 57.33 50.67 63.00 71.83 0.97 1.14 1.28 L 1 S 3 53.83 55.33 53.67 38.83 46.50 59.17 0.71 0.84 1.12 L 1 S 4 41.67 42.67 46.33 36.83 43.50 53.17 0.89 1.03 1.18 L 2 S 1 54.50 57.17 58.50 51.83 66.33 71.00 0.96 1.18 1.24 L 2 S 2 41.33 47.67 51.83 63.17 81.50 96.17 1.64 1.79 1.94 L 2 S 3 40.83 47.33 48.00 20.50 31.00 40.17 0.45 0.63 0.84 L 2 S 4 38.33 57.33 52.50 62.17 73.50 78.17 1.75 1.31 1.54 L 3 S 1 63.00 67.33 70.67 61.83 74.83 84.83 0.99 1.12 1.21 L 3 S 2 48.00 52.00 57.50 47.83 57.83 58.00 1.01 1.13 1.02 L 3 S 3 58.50 63.67 63.67 76.17 78.67 84.83 1.34 1.25 1.36 L 3 S 4 57.00 59.83 65.83 46.17 59.17 72.17 0.83 1.00 1.11 L 4 S 1 71.00 78.83 81.67 58.17 71.83 78.67 0.82 0.91 0.97 L 4 S 2 98.83 104.00 104.83 85.50 101.17 96.83 0.87 0.97 0.93 L 4 S 3 63.33 74.50 91.00 65.67 80.50 100.67 1.05 1.09 1.11 L 4 S 4 65.33 73.67 82.67 57.17 72.17 96.00 0.88 0.98 1.17 S.Em ± 1.09 0.98 0.99 1.38 1.12 1.16 0.13 0.07 0.08 CD (P=0.05) 3.06 2.76 2.78 3.89 3.16 3.27 0.40 0.23 0.25 CV (%) 4.76 3.89 3.73 3.32 4.13 3.75 8.41 8.32 6.41 Spikes harvested at the unopened-floret stage (S 1 ) at 2nd, 4th, 6th day of storage recorded significantly higher fresh-weight (85.38, 76.00 & 69.90 g), whereas, in the one- floret stage, fresh-weight was 62.56, 58.45 & 54.15 g at 8th, 10th & 12th day, respectively; at the two-floret stage, fresh-weight was 50.4 g at 14th day. Interaction effect was also found to be significant. It is a fact that longer spikes have greener biomass with higher uptake of water, water-retention, food materials, etc. which resulted in higher fresh-weight of the spike, while, lower rate of respiration, transpiration and ethylene production at less advanced stages might be responsible for maximum fresh- weight. These results are in accordance with observations reported by De and Barman (1998) in tuberose; Satpute and Patel (2002) and Barman and Rajni (2004) in gladiolus and Brahmankar et al (2005) in golden rod. J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 5 (1): 42-47, 2010 Vase-life of cut flowers in tuberose 46 Table 7. Effect of stem length and stage of harvest on percentage of opened and abscised florets during vase life in tuberose Treatments Opened florets (%) Abscised florets (%) 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled Length of stem L 1 43.50 33.65 38.57 *5.89 (33.69) 5.72 (31.71) 5.80 (32.70) L 2 49.17 39.28 44.23 5.42 (28.40) 5.21 (26.14) 5.32 (27.26) L 3 47.56 40.08 43.82 5.31 (27.16) 5.12 (25.12) 5.21 (26.18) L 4 49.05 42.85 45.95 5.23 (26.36) 5.01 (24.15) 5.12 (25.24) S.Em. ± 0.78 0.79 0.56 0.04 0.03 0.02 CD (P=0.05) 2.25 2.28 1.57 0.11 0.087 0.07 Stage of harvest S 1 37.80 29.61 33.70 6.28 (38.49) 6.10 (36.25) 6.19 (37.36) S2 40.57 32.03 36.30 5.51 (29.37) 5.34 (27.50) 5.42 (28.43) S 3 52.08 44.12 48.10 5.45 (28.68) 5.24 (26.44) 5.34 (27.55) S 4 58.82 50.11 54.46 4.61 (20.22) 4.38 (18.22) 4.50 (19.21) S.Em. ± 0.78 0.79 0.56 0.04 0.03 0.02 CD (P=0.05) 2.25 2.28 1.57 0.11 0.08 0.07 Interaction L X S S.Em. ± 1.57 1.59 1.12 0.08 0.05 0.05 CD (P=0.05) 4.50 4.55 3.14 0.22 0.16 0.13 CV (%) 5.74 7.05 6.33 2.38 1.79 2.12 Table 6. Interaction effect of stem length and stage of harvesting on fresh weight and physiological loss of weight of spike during vase life in tuberose (pooled) Treatments Fresh weight of spike (g) PLW (%) 6th 8th 10th 12th 14th day day day day day L 1 S 1 44.45 38.22 33.15 28.75 25.97 46.86 L 1 S 2 43.77 38.27 34.68 31.60 28.83 38.57 L 1 S 3 42.43 38.83 36.58 33.67 31.67 35.36 L 1 S 4 34.25 32.20 29.80 27.58 26.32 42.68 L 2 S 1 55.25 45.43 46.60 42.92 38.82 37.30 L 2 S 2 56.78 46.18 42.45 39.27 35.28 46.77 L 2 S 3 55.93 51.83 48.87 45.60 42.75 33.88 L 2 S 4 50.18 44.90 41.08 36.15 30.27 52.42 L 3 S 1 80.33 74.76 70.25 66.93 58.88 29.59 L 3 S 2 78.61 76.50 73.80 67.23 61.97 25.46 L 3 S 3 72.08 67.33 61.63 57.60 53.60 35.92 L 3 S 4 67.00 60.48 53.45 52.23 49.98 39.58 L 4 S 1 99.58 88.13 81.83 77.52 74.97 30.78 L 4 S 2 94.97 88.08 82.87 78.48 74.35 28.48 L 4 S 3 92.67 87.00 80.80 76.18 73.57 29.48 L 4 S 4 93.05 84.00 78.27 73.85 69.05 36.44 S.Em± 1.069 1.259 1.084 0.92 0.85 1.31 CD (P=0.05) 3.01 3.54 3.05 2.58 2.39 3.68 CV (%) 3.95 5.13 4.74 4.30 4.28 8.69 Physiological loss of weight Data on influence of stem length on loss of weight (%) showed that this was significantly affected, and the minimum value (31.29%) was recorded in 90 cm stem length, at par with L 3 (Tables 5 and 6). Stage of harvest had significant effect and a lower PLW% (33.66) was recorded at two-floret open stage (S 3 ); however, this was at par with S 2 . Interaction effect was also found to be significant in the combination L 3 S 2 . This may be due to higher uptake of water concomitant with lower loss of water and higher water- retention in the spike. Percentage of opened and abscised florets Among various stem lengths, the longest spike length (L 4 ) significantly promoted opening of florets (45.95%), followed by L 2 (Tables 7 and 8). This might have been due to higher water-uptake and water balance with higher turgidity and increased amounts of carbohydrates, which promote respiration. Similarly, the maximum number of opened florets (54.46%) was recorded in the three-florets open stage of harvest (S 4 ), followed by two-florets open (S 3 ). The treatment combination L 2 S 4 performed better with maximum number of opened florets (59.56%). Highest number of opened florets seen at advanced stage might be due to sufficient accumulation of carbohydrates, enhancing petal movement. Similar results were found by De et al (1996) in cut rose; Sangama and Singh (1999), Satpute and Patel (2002) and Barman and Rajni (2004) in gladiolus, and, Brahmankar et al (2005) in golden rod. Similar results were also observed for percentage of abscised florets. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are grateful to Dean (P.G. Studies), Junagadh Agriculture University, Junagadh, for providing necessary facilities. REFERENCES Ahn, GwiYeon, Park, Joong Choon, Ahn, G.Y. and Park, J.C. 1996. Effect of cultivars and harvest seasons on quality preservation of cut rose. J. Korean Soc. Hortl. Sci., 37:598-602 J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 5 (1): 42-47, 2010 Varu and Barad 47 Barman, D. and Rajni, K. 2004. Effect of harvest maturity and spike length on post harvest life of gladiolus. J. Orn. Hort., 7:204-026 Brahmankar, S.E., B.K. Dhaduk and Singh, A. 2005. Effect of harvesting stages and chemical preservatives on post harvest life of golden rod (Solidago canadensis Linn.) panicles, J. Orn. Hort., 8:23-26 De, L.C. and Barman, D. 1998. Vase life of cut tuberose spikes as affected by stage of harvest, stalk length and sucrose. Orissa J. Hort., 26:66-69 De, L.C. and Bhattacharjee, S.K. 1999. Effect of chemicals for tight bud opening of rose cv. ‘Super Star’ at different stages of maturity. Ann. Agril. Res., 20:206- 211 Jain, A.K., Gupta, A.K. and Garg, S.C. 2003. Indian Horticulture Database, National Horticulture Board, Gurgaon, p. 8 Khalighi, A. and Shafie, M.R. 2000. Effects of chemical and temperature treatments on longevity and harvesting stages on cut flower longevity and some other characteristics of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.). Iranian J. Agril. Sci., 31:119- 125 Nagaraja, G.S. and Gopinatha, K.S. 2001. Effect of the stage of harvest on the vase life of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Hook.). Mysore J. Agril. Sci., 35:20-25 Renu, Rajan, Bhattacharjee, S.K. and Rajan, R. 1994. Influence of some harvest factors on the post harvest life of “Eiffel Tower” roses. Orissa J. Hort., 22:19- 21 Sangama and Singh, K.P. 1999. Effect of flower spike length on various floret qualities in gladiolus. J. Orn. Hort., 2:144-45 Satpute, S. and Patel, N.L. 2002. Effect of spike lengths and Chemical substances on vase life and quality of gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus L.) cv. ‘White Prosperity’. Gujarat J. Applied Hort., 1:1-14 Singh, K.P. and Sangama. 2002. Influence of cultivars and flower stalk length on vase life gerbera. In: Floriculture research trend in India. Proceedings of the national symposium on Indian floriculture in the new millennium, 2002, pp 324-325 Singh, Kushal, Arora, J.S. and Singh, K. 2000. Effect of harvesting stages, sucrose, BAP and GA 3 on bud opening and vase life of tuberose. J. Orn. Hort. 3:111-113 Table 8. Interaction effect of stem length and stage of harvest on percentage of opened and abscised florets during vase life in tuberose Treatments Opened florets (%) Abscised florets (%)* 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled 2003-04 2004-05 Pooled L 1 S 1 35.46 25.89 30.67 7.08 (49.06) 6.92 (46.92) 7.00 (47.98) L 1 S 2 44.76 35.23 39.99 6.05 (35.66) 5.86 (33.39) 5.96 (34.51) L 1 S 3 45.43 35.15 40.29 5.45 (28.71) 5.27 (26.80) 5.36 (27.75) L 1 S 4 48.33 38.33 43.33 4.98 (23.79) 4.82 (22.22) 4.90 (23.00) L 2 S 1 33.56 23.71 28.63 5.93 (34.15) 5.79 (32.47) 5.86 (33.31) L 2 S 2 43.59 33.65 38.62 5.50 (29.24) 5.35 (27.60) 5.42 (28.41) L 2 S 3 55.01 45.19 50.10 6.11 (36.37) 5.88 (33.60) 6.00 (34.97) L 2 S 4 64.53 54.59 59.56 4.15 (16.21) 3.82 (13.63) 3.99 (14.89) L 3 S 1 36.15 29.86 33.01 6.47 (40.92) 6.30 (38.64) 6.39 (39.77) L 3 S 2 41.60 34.70 38.15 4.30 (17.47) 4.16 (16.27) 4.23 (16.86) L 3 S 3 50.49 43.82 47.16 4.94 (23.39) 4.76 (21.67) 4.85 (22.52) L 3 S 4 61.98 51.93 56.95 5.52 (29.44) 5.27 (26.73) 5.39 (28.06) L 4 S 1 46.02 38.99 42.50 5.66 (31.00) 5.41 (28.26) 5.53 (29.62) L 4 S 2 32.33 24.53 28.43 6.19 (37.35) 5.99 (34.83) 6.09 (36.08) L 4 S 3 57.38 52.33 54.86 5.29 (26.98) 5.04 (24.37) 5.16 (25.66) L 4 S 4 60.45 55.57 58.01 3.78 (13.30) 3.63 (12.15) 3.70 (12.72) S.Em± 1.57 1.59 1.12 0.08 0.05 0.05 C D (P=0.05) 4.50 4.55 3.14 0.22 0.16 0.13 CV (%) 5.74 7.05 6.33 2.38 1.79 2.12 * Figures in parentheses indicate square root transformed values (MS Received 15 December 2009, Revised 17 March 2010) J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 5 (1): 42-47, 2010 Vase-life of cut flowers in tuberose